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Lost or changed sense of smell
A change in your sense of smell can be unpleasant and affect how things taste. But it is not usually serious and may get better in a few weeks or months.
Important:
Could it be coronavirus (COVID-19)?
A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste could be COVID-19.
Get advice about symptoms of COVID-19 and what to do
Causes of lost or changed sense of smell
Changes in sense of smell are most often caused by:
a cold or flu
sinusitis (sinus infection)
an allergy, like hay fever
growths in your nose (nasal polyps)
These can cause:
loss of smell (anosmia)
smelling things that are not there (phantosmia), like smoke or burnt toast
reduced sense of smell (hyposmia)
the smell of things to change (parosmia)
Information:
It's also common to lose some of your sense of smell as you get older.
Cleaning inside your nose can help
Rinsing the inside of your nose with a saltwater solution may help if your sense of smell is affected by an infection or allergy.
You can make a saltwater solution at home.
How to clean your nose with a saltwater solution
Some pharmacies sell sachets you can use to make a saltwater solution and devices to help you rinse your nose.
Information:
Call a pharmacy or contact them online before going in person. You can get medicines delivered or ask someone to collect them.
Find a pharmacy
Non-urgent advice:
See a GP if your sense of smell does not go back to normal in a few weeks
They'll check for any obvious causes, such as sinusitis or nasal polyps.
They may refer you to a specialist for tests if they're not sure what the problem is.
Information:
Coronavirus (COVID-19) update: how to contact a GP
It's still important to get help from a GP if you need it. To contact your GP surgery:
visit their website
use the NHS App
call them
Find out about using the NHS during COVID-19
Treatment for lost or changed sense of smell
Your sense of smell may go back to normal in a few weeks or months.
Treating the cause might help. For example, steroid nasal sprays or drops might help if you have sinusitis or nasal polyps.
A treatment called smell training can also help some people. To find out more about smell training, see:
AbScent: smell training
Fifth Sense: smell testing and training
Sometimes changes in sense of smell cannot be treated and may be permanent.
Important
If you have lost your sense of smell, you may not be able to smell things like gas leaks, fires and food that's gone off.
Fifth Sense has some safety advice if you have anosmia
Page last reviewed: 11 December 2020
Next review due: 11 December 2023
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